Any comments/interaction?Why are some Christians hanging on a few words of encouragement then are bent out of shape and feel the need to correct a sincere brother in the faith?

Is this what Calvinism is coming to in the new Millenium?

BlessingsMark_________________Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

11.Their election is to salvation itself and is not simply to the completion of the salvation of those who have already believed.

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"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13);

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:6-8);

"And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48b);

"Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be [not because we were] holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:4-6);

"For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13);

"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4-5);

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:3).

12. To show His love and provide for their salvation, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross.

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"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:14-15);

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Rom. 5:8-10);

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18);

"For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups [Jews and Gentiles] into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in His flesh the enmity...so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity" (Eph. 2:14-16);

"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him" (1 Thes. 5:9-10);

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us" (1 Jn. 3:16a)

13. There God's wrath was poured out on Jesus, paying the penalty for all the sins (both original and actual) of these chosen people and thus satisfying God's justice.

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"Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.... the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.... But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering" (Is. 53:4a, 6b, 10a);

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation1 in His blood through faith." (Rom. 3:23-25a);

"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Rom. 6:6-7);

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21);

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13a) "And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Eph. 5:2);

"Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26);

"And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24);

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18);

"And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2);

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn. 4:10).

1A propitiation is that by which God's wrath is appeased concerning sins. All sins for which Jesus has propitiated God are by definiton forgiven.

14. Each one of the elect is born in sin, just like everyone else, and is indistinguishable from the non-elect.

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"And hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Mk. 2:17);

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk. 19:10);

"For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7);

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:1-5a);

"For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them" (Col. 3:6-7);

"It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" (1 Tim. 1:15);

"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:3-5a).

15. But throughout that person's life, God is at work preparing him or her for salvation.

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"The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Prov. 16:9);

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28);

"Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge" (2 Cor. 5:5);

"And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me..." (Gal. 1:14-16a)

[This particular assertion is best demonstrated observationally rather than explicitly stated, but it is in accord with God's providential working of all things.]

16. The means which God has ordained for bringing the elect to salvation is the sending out of believers to preach the gospel aggressively and persuasively to all people without distinction.

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"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mt. 24:14);

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20a);

"Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mk. 1:14-15);

"The sower sows the word.... And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold" (Mk. 4:14,20);

"And He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Lk. 24:47);

"And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ'" (Acts 17:2-3);

"So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are at Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:15-16);

"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will the believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15a);

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor. 1:17a);

"...in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.... For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4,6);

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some from good will.... What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice" (Phil. 1:15,18).

17. At some point, through the preaching of the gospel and the faith which God provides, the Holy Spirit regenerates the elect individual, who is thereby born again.

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"Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God'" (Jn. 3:5)

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life" (Jn. 6:63);

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word" (Eph. 5:25);

"When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions" (Col. 2:13);

"He saved us...by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7);

"For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard" (Heb. 4:2);

"For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23);

"For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are [now] dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live by the Spirit according to the will of God" (1 Pet. 4:6)

18. The elect one, now having a nature capable of responding to God, then responds through faith and repentance, which are gifts from God, embracing Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (Jn. 3:18);

"When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, 'Well, then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18);

"...solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21);

"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4);

"What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (1 Cor. 1:5-6);

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8);

"The Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" (2 Tim. 2:25-26).

19. At this moment the believer is declared righteous (justified) by the imputation of Christ's righteousness,

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"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses" (Acts 13:38-39);

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith...for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:21-25a,26);

"So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification for all men. For as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous" (Rom. 5:18-19);

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21);

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2:16, KJV).

20. adopted as a child of God and heir of Christ,

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"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (Jn. 1:12);

"And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:33);

"But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you...that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:16a,18b);

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him" (Rom. 8:14-17);

"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God" (Gal. 4:4-7);

"He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will" (Eph. 1:5);

"Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light" (Col. 1:12);

"So that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7);

"Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?" (James 2:5).

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

6. Because of His justice, God had to punish people's sin; a penalty had to be paid.

Support: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain" (Ex. 20:7);

"Who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Ex. 34:7);

"Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you" (Lev. 22:20);

"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Nah. 1:3a);

"He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD" (Prov. 17:15);

"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways" (Ezk. 33:20);

"Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.... Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:18, 22).

7. But because of His love, just as God chose Israel, He also chose to redeem a people for Himself from every tribe, nation, and tongue.

Support: "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers" (Dt. 7:6-8a);

"In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance'" (Is. 19:24-25);

"Simon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name" (Acts 15:14);

"God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.... 'I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice" (Rom. 11:2,4b-5);

"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4);

"Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14);

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Heb. 8:10);

"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures" (Jam. 1:18);

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10);

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them'" (Rev. 21:3).

8. God did not choose everyone [not all will be saved].

Support: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt. 7:13-14);

"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast our demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23);

"Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me.... You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father'" (Jn. 8:42,44);

"Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep'" (Jn. 10:25-26);

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (Jn. 15:19);

"I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours" (Jn. 17:9);

"Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith" (2 Thes. 3:2);

"And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come" (Rev. 17:8).

9. and He made His unchangeable selection based only on His Sovereign, gracious will, without regard to anything intrinsic to any one.

Support: "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and He will not make it good?" (Num. 23:19);

"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes" (Jn. 5:20);

"Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20);

"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth" (Rom. 9:11, KJV);

"For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." (Rom. 9:15-16);

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29);

"For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7);

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me" (1 Cor. 15:10);

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9);

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (Jam. 1:17).

10. The Bible refers to these people as the elect.

Support: "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days" (Mk. 13:20; cf. Matt. 24:22);

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. 24:24, cf. Mk. 13:22);

"And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven" (Mk 13:27; cf. Matt. 24:31);

"Now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?" (Lk. 18:7);

"Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies" (Rom. 8:33);

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering" (Col. 3:12, KJV);

"according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness" (Titus 1:1a, KJV);

"elect according to the foreknowledge God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:2a, KJV)